Tackling controversial topics, partnering with high profile talent on entertaining, thought provoking and emotionally charged movies are the cornerstones that mark HBO Films productions.

HBO has been producing highly acclaimed films since 1983, when it presented the first made-for-pay TV movie, "The Terry Fox Story," under the HBO Pictures banner. In 1986, HBO began producing movies under a second banner, HBO Showcase that explored the boundaries of contemporary drama. HBO Showcase was expanded and renamed HBO NYC Productions in January 1996, taking on edgier and more diverse projects.

In 1996, HBO NYC quickly made its mark with "If These Walls Could Talk," starring Demi Moore, Sissy Spacek and Cher, and continued with films like 1997's "In the Gloaming" featuring the directorial debut of Christopher Reeve and 1999's "Witness Protection" starring Tom Sizemore, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Forest Whitaker. HBO Showcase, the forerunner of HBO NYC, produced 27 films from 1986 to 1995 and won the network's first Primetime Emmy® for "Age Old Friends" in 1990.

Under HBO Pictures, more than 115 exclusive features were produced, from "The Terry Fox Story" in 1983 starring Robert Duvall and Eric Fryer to 1999's "RKO 281" featuring Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith and John Malkovich. Over the years, HBO Pictures emerged as a dominant force in the made-for-TV movie category at the annual Primetime Emmy® Awards.

In October 1999, HBO announced the consolidation of HBO Pictures and HBO NYC under the banner HBO Films. The reconfigured movie division produces a broad slate of films that run the gamut from low-budget independents to big-event movies, touching on a wide range of provocative and entertaining subjects - characteristics that have become the hallmark of HBO's original movies.

HBO Films instantly set the standard for uncompromising, cutting edge movies on television with the release of "If these Walls Could Talk 2" in 2000. Starring Vanessa Redgrave, Sharon Stone and Ellen Degeneres, the trilogy examined the lesbian experience in America in three different decades.

Ten HBO films have won the made-for-TV Emmys® to date: "The Gathering Storm" in 2002; "Wit," in 2001; "A Lesson Before Dying" in 1999; "Don King: Only in America" in 1998; "Miss Evers' Boys" in 1997; "Truman" in 1996; "Indictment: The McMartin Trial" in 1995; "And the Band Played On," about the early years of the AIDS epidemic, in 1994; and "Stalin" and "Barbarians at the Gate" which tied in 1993.

Since 1989, HBO Films' acclaimed movies and miniseries, which include "Elizabeth I," "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," "Angels in America," "Wit" and "Empire Falls," have garnered 130 Emmy ® Awards, winning the Outstanding Made for Television Movie Emmy ® 12 of the last 14 years.

HBO Films has captured 44 Golden Globe Awards since 1985, winning the Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV award for eight of the last 12 years. Since 2003, HBO Films has received three Oscar® nominations: Catalina Sandino Moreno in the Best Actress category for "Maria Full Of Grace," "Yesterday" in the Best Foreign Language Film category and "American Splendor" for Best Adapted Screenplay.